The Stowaway
by Miss Dani Lips
Summary: After a Jedi Cruiser leaves Coruscant, Jedi Master Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano find there is a new member on board. A Force-sensitive Zeltron called Manti explains her story and helps aid the Republic alongside her allies. Along her travels to a new world, she finds herself not only caught up with the Jedi but also a few clones.
1. Introduction

The cruiser wasn't the warmest place in the world, or the quietest. There was always a low murmur of a constant hum from the ship and the occasional beeping from monitors and passing droids. Padawan Ahsoka Tano and her Master Anakin Skywalker sat in the mess hall alone in what would be assumed the middle of the night. After all, it was a bit difficult to tell what time of day it could be when you're floating through dead space. The ship had taken quite a beating from a Separatist ambush not too long after their launch from Coruscant.

"I don't think there's ever a dull day during this war, eh, Master?" Ahsoka chided, clinking her fork to her plate.

"Right on that one, Snips. But hopefully tonight we'll get some much needed rest. We've been on the move for a week straight now. I was hoping for a longer stay than just a few hours on Coruscant," Anakin stretched his arms above his head as a few of his vertebrae popped.

"I've taken a nap or two here and there, but it's hard to keep a peaceful sleep when you might get blasted in the middle of it," the Togruta rolled her eyes, swallowing her last mouthful. It was the first bit of time the ship hadn't been under attack or the crew fulfilling orders, and in a weird way, it was peaceful for this quietness. Quiet except for the constant hum of engines. Quiet except for footsteps in the hall way. Anakin looked towards his apprentice who nodded her head in confused agreement. The both of them headed for the door, a hand on the hilt of their lightsabers, ready for confrontation.

They rounded the corner quietly, Skywalker with a finger to his lips indicating Ahsoka to remain silent. No one in the hallway. They silently traveled down the hall, peeking behind crates and generators to make sure no one was lurking behind them. Ahsoka raised an eye marking at her Master.

"There's nothing out here, Master. Let's go back and finish eating so we can get some sleep," there was a hint of annoyance in her voice. She started to head back, but Anakin stayed and looked around intensively. "Master?" the Padawan questioned.

"The vent. It's crooked. Look," he pointed a finger at the overhead vent. It had been put back in its place, but remained slightly crooked.

"Are you sure, Master? I've walked past this vent a few times today, and I'm pretty sure it's always looked like that," Ahsoka said, scratching her forehead.

"Alright, Snips. I don't trust it, but I'll take your judgment," he yawned. "We should go and try and get some sleep. It's too quiet to be awake," he chuckled, guiding the Padawan back down the hall.

The vent had been crooked all day, but it hadn't been yesterday. Because it was this morning that the cruiser had left Coruscant, and it was this morning that there was a stowaway in the vent system.


	2. Chapter 1

A sigh of relief was left by the young woman in the vent system. She had been cooped up there for an entire planetary rotation without food, water, or any relief. What was assumed as night time fell and the crew had headed back to their quarters for a night's rest when she decided it would be a good time to see if anything was left in the mess hall, which is when she noted the Jedi in there.

_They can sense me, I know it, _she thought to herself. She knew more about Jedi than more people gave her credit for. In this fight-or-flight circumstance, she knew that choosing flight would be the choice that wouldn't get her captured or killed. So back into the vents she went, careful to put the grate back in exactly the same half crooked way she had done all day. She could go back and try and get some grub now that she was sure the Jedi had gone to rest, but she wasn't going to chance it. Maybe get some sleep, but the vents were colder than the rest of the internal part of the cruiser, and judging by her outfit she would most likely freeze if she didn't get to warmer quarters. Her nose had started running and her skin had been covered in goosebumps for the last few hours. She silently started to crawl through the vent system in hopes of finding somewhere warmer to at least get some rest. She wanted to stand up, her legs and back were cramped from being on all fours all day, and being bipedal, she wished to walk. She crawled along the vents, peering down onto empty hallways or generator rooms as she went.

A light was spewing out through one of the vent grates a few yards away, and a few muffled voices could be heard. Curiosity got the best of her, so she slowly and silently crawled over to peer through the grate. Below she saw a handful of men, all with the same face and voices that were similar, too. _Clones,_ she thought. She had heard about them half a million times back on Coruscant, but she'd never actually seen one except on the holonet, and never one with his armour off. The troopers lounged around in some sort of pod that resembled a bed…or a type of sleeping area. Not a place that she would deem ideal, but good enough.

"But really, I'm glad tonight is a light one. Rough morning always makes for good sleep, right boys?" sighed a voice.

"Aye, Captain. I think I've spent enough time in the infirmary this week. And I've seen more of Kix than I'd like to," the voice laughed.

"Hey now, quality time with me if the best," the one called Kix retorted.

"Not with a fractured knee cap it's not!" The group of men all laughed and settled down in their bunks. She pressed her face against the grate to get a better look at what was going on. The grate wiggled some, which made her nervous to be leaning forward on it so much, but before she could back off of it completely, it fell through onto the floor bringing her down with it.

The men snapped to attention and a few emerged out of their bunks cautiously to see what was the matter. Her fiery red hair was a mess as she tried to stand up from the ground, but had landed hard on her arm. She flipped her head back to get the hair out of her face, see the closest exit, and go. But it was too late.

Half of the clones were confused as to how to handle an intruder; the others had firearms closing in on her.

"Please, don't shoot!" she pleaded. A soft accent tied onto her voice. A few of the men laid down their blasters.

"And why shouldn't we?" the one who was addressed as Captain said.

"I am not here to harm anyone. I uhm, it's hard to explain, but I'm not an enemy. But I am a friend," she tried smiling. The smile is normally what her people used casually to win over people.

"Sir?" a trooper looked over to his Captain.

"Blasters down, men. We should call the General," the Captain said.

"Please, don't. I don't want any trouble. I just want to get off at the next planet," she said, almost breathy. She knew what it meant when the General was called, and she didn't want to get involved with Jedi again.

A few of the men whispered in their bunks, raising an eyebrow and a few smirking. Her cheeks pinked a shade darker than it already was.

"Right then. State your business, Miss…uh…"

"Ava'bre. Manti Ava'bre. Like I said, I just want to get off at the next planet."

"Well, this isn't a taxi. Plus this cruiser left from Coruscant, and we're a bit far from Zeltros for you to be there," the Captain eyed her. She was suddenly nervous, which was a very different feeling than her people were used to.

"If you want further discussion, we could go somewhere more…private?" she charmed. That usually worked, didn't it? She had been away from home for so long she hadn't really remembered how to sweet talk anyone to well anymore.

"I'm taking this one as sending her in for questioning. Call in the General, but tell him the threat is low," the Captain said almost hesitantly and motioned for his men to go about their business. Her charm speak didn't seem to work on this particular soldier. Perhaps the clones were trained for this? She started to get up by pushing up on her arm, the arm she had fell down on hard. She was almost certain it was broken and winced as she got to her feet. But that would have to wait. She now had to follow this trooper and explain herself, which wasn't something she had planned on doing.

_Just tell the truth and you'll be fine,_ she thought. These men were trained to test the intentions of people. He led her into a room with a table and sat her down. His wrist comm beeped and a voice spoke.

"Everything alright, Rex? I'm on my way."

"Everything is fine, General. I'll uh, explain more when you get here," Rex said into his wrist. A few moments a dark haired human Jedi, the same one from the mess hall, strided into the room. He was tall and young, most likely around the girl's age, but had a crease in his forehead.

"And who's this?" the Jedi said, wafting a hand in her direction.

"Says her name is Manti Ava'bre, home world: Zeltros, current world: Coruscant," the clone stated.

"So, care to explain why you were hiding in our ventilation system?" the Jedi's voice wasn't very forgiving.

"Because I knew I would be pulled into a room like this and interrogated," she almost snapped. She needed to play nice, but after the last few years on Coruscant playing nice wasn't an easy task.

"Precisely. But I noticed you are bit far from Zeltros, which makes this a bit of a sticky situation," he asked, leaning on the table.

"I've been living on Coruscant for a few years now. Not by choice," she muttered.

"No one ever ends up on Coruscant by choice," he almost laughed. Her lip curved downward in a half frown and she crossed her arms without thinking.

"For a moment I was glad to be off that artificial glowing rock," she muttered.

"If you didn't like it so much, why were you there? I can tell you're no threat to us, but you still need to explain why you're here," he said, now in a more calmer tone. _The Force, that's how he can tell I'm not here to cause mayhem._

She sighed. This wasn't her favourite thing to talk about, but it was almost impossible to lie to a Jedi, and by keeping her mouth shut she would only dig her hole deeper. "Some few years ago a group of merciless bounty hunters found their way to Zeltros. I'm still uncertain to what their mission was, but I was taken from my home and forced into a ship. I couldn't see much as I was stowed into the back of the ship, but I heard them saying something about returning to Coruscant. A man, Rodian I think? Green skin and sparkling eyes, he came in to see me. He seemed uneasy about coming back there though. I was afraid, but somehow I convinced him I was not the right one. Whether or not I was is still a question in the air. They disposed of me once they reached Coruscant, leaving me in the boonies on my own," she said. Anakin's face softened and the clone shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm uhm, very sorry about that," Skywalker cleared his throat.

"Thank you, but I've been through much worse. Don't bother asking how I managed to survive on my own all these years. But when I heard there was a Cruiser docking out, I had to get on somehow. I didn't mean to cause such a problem."

"Problem? No, don't worry about it. But you're lucky I'm the one in charge here because the other Jedi wouldn't be so forgiving about a stowaway. But there's something about you, Pinkie. I can sense the force with you," he said. Manti rolled her brown eyes full circle.

"That's something to save for another time," she almost pleaded.

Another trooper opened the door to the room.

"Rex?" he questioned.

"Ah yes, Kix, I knew I'd be needing you soon. You saw as well as I did how she fell on her arm," Rex retorted.

"I'd be alarmed if you didn't, Captain. It's not every day a blur of pink falls from your ceiling," he eyed Manti. "Should I take her to the infirmary?"

"Uh," Rex said, turning to his General for further instruction. Anakin nodded in approval. "Go ahead, Kix. She's going to need some bandaging."

"Hey now, I'm the medic here," he smiled.

"Take her into the infirmary. Let me know how things go once you're done. Sir," he turned to the General for permission to leave.

"You're in good hands with Kix. He's our team's medic. We'll talk more about all this tomorrow. I'm in need of a good night's sleep," Skywalker said, smirking to the girl and walked out of the room. Rex gave an assuring nod to the other clone and left as well. Kix looked over at Manti and smiled awkwardly.

"So a Zeltron, eh?" he said.

"Yes. What gave it away? The skin or the hair?" she laughed.

"Might have been one of those."

"Ah yes, I know it all too well," she sighed. He walked over and helped her stand with her good arm and walked her over to the infirmary. She sat down on the edge of the cot while he took a look at her arm.

"Small fracture, but you'll be fine in no time," he said assuring, wrapping her elbow up.

"Thank you," she said softly. She had stopped feeling so cold and began to embrace the warmer world outside of the vent system. She wished she had a coat to bundle up with, but she only had a ratty one back in that corner she called home. Her current outfit had multiple cutouts and wasn't ideal for staying warm. With her good arm, she reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"There, good as new. Well, almost," the clone said, finishing up her bandaging. She half-smiled politely. She was exhausted. There was barely ever a good night's rest in her part of town on Coruscant, and she was craving some sleep. She yawned and covered her mouth politely with her hand.

"I'm guessing this is my home for the night?" she blinked and gestured to the cot.

"Fine by me, and right now I'm in charge," he said kindly. "Is there anything I can get you? A blanket or something to help?"

"A blanket would be nice. Thank you, uhm, Kix, yes?"

"Yeah, that's me," he tossed her a bundle of soft fabric. "I'll need to check on your arm in the morning. Just try not to sleep on that arm, for obvious reasons."

"Will do, soldier," she smiled as he exited the room. She shifted on the cot. Not a very comfortable place, but better than what she had been dealing with the past few days at least. The only thing that really mattered to her right now was that she wasn't or shivering in the small hole in the wall that she wouldn't even call a home, she wasn't dancing in the sleazy nightclub for food money, and that she was in a safe place with kind people with good intentions. And that night, Manti slept in more peace that she had in years.


	3. Chapter 2

Manti was woken up by a muffled argument outside of the room.

"You can't be serious, Master! She's likely to be a Separatist spy pulling a trick on us here!"

"Woah, calm down, Snips. It's fine, really."

"Don't tell me she's used some Zeltron spell on you or something. You need to look at the picture more clearer. Since when do we take likely to strangers hiding in the ventilation system? I don't care if she's injured or not, she has no place on this ship!"

"She's done nothing to me, you have nothing to worry about."

"Well, she must have done something to the clones because the boys are talking and I don't like what I'm hearing."

"Ahsoka, listen to yourself. She's been in _there_ all night, and she's still in there now sleeping." Well, she was. "I know what it's like to be trapped on the worst planet you can possibly be stuck on and never get off." He paused before gathering himself. "Plus, can't you feel the Force within her?" His voice was hushed as he now spoke.

"So _she's_ that disturbance I've been feeling?" There was a pause where Manti assumed he was nodding. "So if she's so sensitive, why isn't she backing the Jedi Order?"

"I looked up whatever information I could about her this morning. Apparently she had been confronted as a youngling, but she and her people voted against it. But you know how it is on Zeltros, parties and fun times. But she's different; she's got more fight in her than we give her credit for."

There was a sigh from the Togruta Padawan. "Well, we can't make her join us, Master. You can't just force someone to give up their life for us." Manti heard the door open and she quickly pretended to be asleep. Footsteps sounded nearer until she was sure whoever was in the room was standing right over her. It was only the young learner, minus her Master, in the room. Ahsoka peered down at the supposed sleeping girl and eyed her suspiciously. Her eyes traveled from her long messy red hair over the soft pink skin of her face. The rest of her was concealed by a bantha-skin blanket. Ahsoka sighed and walked away a few steps. She had never met a real Zeltron, but the stories she heard about those people were real life drama. She had never read the stories in the holozines or watched the shows, but she knew Zeltros was where many of the people she encountered went for their vacations, had a few too many drinks, and came home with the wildest stories. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of one of _those_ types of people battling beside her, striking once and then crying over a broken fingernail. Manti heard the other girl turns and exit the room. She opened her eyes at sat up, peeling the blanket off of herself and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Ah, you're awake. Good," said a familiar voice. Kix walked into the room armoured up, carrying his helmet under his arm.

"Good morning, soldier," she said, glancing down at her arm and then to the clone.

"How's the elbow? Still sore?"

"A little. Whatever you did last night worked pretty well," she said, speaking to him, but not looking him in the face. Her eyes glued to the slightly scuffed white armour that covered him. In the alleys of Coruscant there were always the usual tabloids of what was going on with the GAR and the battles in the skies. The whole deal sent her mind on a roller coaster; she was very unsure of everything in this war.

"Don't be too surprised by this battered ol' thing," he said light-heartedly. "There's more than a million out there just like it."

"If you're a medic, why are you dressed in that?"

"We just received orders that there's going to be some sort of Separatist ambush. I'm surprised General Skywalker hasn't come in here to warn you-"

"Oh good, you're awake. Uh, don't be afraid, but we've just detected a Separatist warship coming out of hyperspace," Anakin rushed in.

"Right on time, General," Kix said, nodding to the both of them, and rushed out of the room. Manti looked at the Jedi as if he had two heads.

"I mean, the bad guys are coming to get us?"

"I understand what that means, sir. What can I do to help?" Manti slid off the edge of the bed.

"Not much with that arm of yours all bent out of shape. The most you can do would be to just try and stay out of the way, no offense though."

"None taken. But I'm also assuming hiding in the vents wouldn't be a good place to go?" she winked. He smiled. Anakin enjoyed her sense of humour despite the hardship she had been facing. Suddenly, the ship rocked thunderously, causing both of them to regain their balance.

"Those metal heads are docking," Anakin spat, followed by a curse. He hand reached down to his belt and grabbed his light saber, igniting it. Manti looked at the glowing azure blade in awe.

"Just stay out of trouble!" he called, also running out of the room.

The metal clangs of battle droids approaching were getting closer. Ahsoka stood ready next to her Jedi Master with her hands on the hilts of both of her lightsabers. A small group of the droids turns and started down the hallway. Anakin and Ahsoka both lept out and in a single leap decapitated the heads of each droid. They continued to run down the halls, footsteps echoing as they went.

"Jedi! Get 'em!" a droid called out as the Jedi entered a new hall. Red blaster bolts fired from the droids. Ahsoka deflected each one back with swift movements of her light sabers.

"Rex, we need you!" Anakin said into his wrist comm.

"We're on it, sir. A bit busy right now," Rex said back, the sound of blasters could be heard through the comlink.

"Be careful. We'll be at your position as soon as we can."

"Master, I think we have a problem," Ahsoka called to him, standing at the window. The Separatist ship that had docked was now sending in more and more droids to their ship. "Where did this even come from?"

"I don't know, Snips. But I don't like this," he said, turning to head back down the hall way.

A grumble of robotic voices were heard and three commando droids popped up in front of the two.

"I hate these ones!" Ahsoka grunted, colliding her lightsaber with the droid's vibrosword. Anakin was working against one with a blaster, quickly thrusting his own lightsaber through the chest combine of the droid, drawing back and smoothly sliced diagonally through another. Ahsoka was still having a hard time with hers. She flipped over it and nailed him in the backside, destroying the circuitry. She wiped the sweat from her brow. They rounded another corner and were confronted by surprised destroyer droids.

_Today isn't my day,_ she thought, immediately revolving her blades like a windmill to deflect the oncoming bullets from the droideka.

"Ahsoka, you ever get the feeling that no one wants us to get any rest?" Anakin said what could have been mistaken as a joke.

"Don't use the Force to read my mind now," she joked back. She sprung backwards and headed back down the hall.

"Go make sure everyone is alright, Ahsoka. I'll handle the rollers," Anakin called as his Padawan dashed down the hall.

_Back to where we just where,_ she pressed her lips together. Another group of tanned battle droids made their way down. With a quick Force push they fell down and she continued running down the hall. Almost to Rex's position, a group of super battle droids marched on. She decided to keep quiet on this round and watched where they were headed. Almost mindlessly the slate grey robots filed down the halls on patrol. Perhaps this was just an attempt at hijacking the cruiser? That had to be it, there was too many droids. They had to be expecting to put up a fight.

"I don't think you're supposed to be here," a battle droid crept up on her. "Fire!"

"Roger, roger." And it was back again to the fight. She backed away some, getting her feet steady. Concentrating hard, she threw a few droids to the ground while running her saber through the front line. _Almost through this group_. One jump, two jumps, three, the lightsaber dragged through the droids and the fight was over. Ahsoka exhaled and slumped her shoulders forward for a quick rest. Where did those super droids head to? She silently peeked her head around the corner and saw them clanging their way towards the infirmary.

She cursed under her breath. _That Zeltron girl has no idea what's coming._ And with a roll of her eyes, she dashed down the hall. By the time she had reached them, it was almost too late. The droids filled the room and blaster fire could be heard down the hall. Ahsoka slid into the room undetected by the droids and was surprised to see Manti putting up a fight. With one arm, the girl back sprung on top of a droid, then lept off as another accidentally fired a bolt through it. Once back on her feet, she saw her use a Force push on a few. _A Force push_. _Anakin was right about her_. She would hate to admit it, but right now Ahsoka needed to trust herself with Manti.

"Hey Zeltron, you ever handle one of these before?" she called, tossing a lightsaber to the other female.

"Nope, but I've always sort of wanted to find out!" Manti called. She pressed down her thumb and ignited the blade. It was a lot heavier than she imagined it would be, but something felt right about the hilt in her hand and she wielded it without trouble. Another spring over and a droid was done. Ahsoka looked towards Manti and nodded, bounding off to the left side of the room while Manti would handle the right. Both girls eagerly slayed through the tough metal of the super droids, and the room was almost silent except for a faint hissing noise as they finished off the last one.

"Not bad," Ahsoka eyed the other girl.

"Thanks, I guess," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Master? How are you handling?" Ahsoka spoke into her wrist, but keeping her eyes on the other girl.

"Almost done here, actually. I'll meet you in the hangar," Anakin's voice responded. Whatever had happened between their separation and now much have been good. Ahsoka turned for the door and Manti followed.

"You stay here," Ahsoka ordered, motioning for the return of her lightsaber. Manti furrowed her brow.

"I'm coming, too," she asserted.

"Fine," she snipped, hauling down the hallway almost too fast for Manti to follow. The Zeltron bounded out after her, her strides almost too graceful for a run. Not fully knowing where to go, she stayed close to Ahsoka's heels until they reached the hangar. They could both see Anakin, Rex, and the rest of the men firing off at a couple stray droids. The Sep ship had undocked and was quickly pulling away. The men knocked down all of the droids left in front of them, but were unaware of the group behind them.

"Behind you!" Manti and Ahsoka yelled in unison. Both ladies jumped, sabers ignited, and slashed through the last few remaining B1's before they had chance to fire. Now safe, the girls let down their guard and stepped over to the others.

"Is everyone okay?" Rex stepped over.

"I think that question rolls more for you all," Ahsoka said. "Girl's gotta save the day every time?"

"Don't let your ego get too big there, my young Padawan," Anakin winked at her. Unsure what to do, Manti stepped forward.

"I thought you were in the infirmary?" Anakin raised a question to the Zeltron, who just now un-ignited the lightsaber blade.

"I guess droids like pretty girls?" She said, hoping to get a laugh out of the group. A few of the clones chuckled and a smile spread across the Jedi's face. Ahsoka crossed her arms defiantly and was handed back her lightsaber.

"I didn't know you could use one of those," Anakin said.

"Neither did I. I guess we both learned something new today," Manti said sheepishly. The wrapped bandage had fallen from her arm somewhere during battle.

"Yeah, she did a decent job, I'd say," Ahsoka smirked. "But there's still a lot of explaining left to do here."


End file.
